Tell me what your pain felt like the first time you exercised after being super unfit?

[plumopie]

I'm middle-aged and did my first exercise in a group class this morning after doing bugger-all since before covid. Omg do I ache/hurt now! Please tell me your experiences so I know I'm not alone in this. Also it'd be nice to hear how long it took you (in your middle years) to get through the pain barrier and be able to do basic exericse without your muscles hurting.

It gets more important to warm up first, stretch afterwards and take it steady as you get older! I am 48 and exercise regularly but get sore for 2-3 days afterwards if I use unfamiliar muscles or overdo it. Some gentle yoga might help stretch sore muscles ( try Yoga with Adrienne on YouTube and pick an order easy/restorative one)

I am in the same boat! Last Monday I exercised and I was in agony for two days. Seriously, I couldn't walk down the stairs properly, or bend down to pick stuff up. Lasted all week, to a lesser degree.Week 2 now and I'm a little sore but not bad.

Yh it hurts for a while but for some reason even though sometimes it hurts too much, I actually like the pain….it’s like a nice pain?!? I know I’m weird!

I train 6 days a week and always warm up before and stretch after doing weights and often struggle to walk after an intense leg session. Embrace the pain it means you have worried hard. I find a foam roller really helpful,

I'm 37. About 2.5 years ago I was superfit.

When I started training again I hurt in muscles I didn't even know I had cos I'd never felt them before.

I exercise all the time and still sometimes get DOMS, last week I had to put my hand on the floor in order to get myself down to the toilet seat 😂 my quads were very sore after some weighted squats.
I weirdly like it though, it shows you’ve had a good workout and pushed yourself.

first time I ran on the treadmill I was so unfit I threw up after 10 minutes…. And I ended up running 1000 miles that year and every year since. Don’t give up!

I want my zing back by the summer, so this feels like a good place to start. Plenty of time to drop a stone or two & gain some real fitness without thrashing myself.

This is standard. Even when I was young and fit I used to hurt sometimes for a day or three after a workout if I used different muscle groups to usual. Walking downstairs after a leg workout was sometimes laughably difficult.

Stick with it. Your muscles DO get used to it.

I was 45 when I went back to exercising. I stuck only going once a week for about 5 or 6 weeks, as I knew if I went all in and did too much I'd hurt so much I'd end up quitting. Then upped it to two and on and on.
I ended up very fit and lost a bunch of weight, went down to a size 6 (I'm short) but was doing cardio 5 hours each week and yoga one hour. I slowed down after about 4 years and only did 2-3 hours a week till lockdown and now all my weight is back.

Oh at first I needed to take Paracetamol or Ibuprofen after a workout as I hurt.

I go 6 days a week it’s a program that allows this. After the first week I don’t ache. I’m off this week and that means next week Monday and Tuesday will be harder but after that it’ll be easier.

WE so always warm up before we start and stretch afterwards, same instructors take and set program so it’s all joined up and we work all the body through the week

i do extra YouTube yoga/stretching at home, not due to soreness but flexibility

This thread is re-assuring me, I did 35 minutes at the gym yesterday after no excercise since pre-covid. I am hurting!

I am mid (late!) 40's and NEED to get fit. I will keep going but am worried about getting the balance right between doing do too much and not enough.

Man here. Aged 44. I also went to the gym yesterday for the first time since pre COVID.

I’d been exercising for 15 hours a week in 2018/19. Already railing off by early 2020 due to injury. Then fell into extreme anxiety about COVID plus just used food and alcohol and Internet to blot everything out. Basically did nothing in 2020-22 that involved breaking a sweat, just some casual cycling to get around. And my home gym has been just staring at me unused all that time. In those years I put on about 4 stone in weight too.

So yesterday I rejoined the gym I used to go to. It’s a long way from where I live and somewhere a bit aspirational (city centre) but I can make time to go there.

All I did yesterday was barbell squats and deadlifts. Just to see what residual strength I had. Obviously I need to do cardio too and mix it up.

Walking out of the gym I felt a rush of endorphins and remembered that used to be something that would be a regular part of my life!! But I’ve gone without it these past three years and have (mostly, except for some pleasures like listening to music) just had bad, numbing things.

Finally I was really surprised by how quiet the gym was! It was empty compared to how it would have been four or five years agog. But still I immediately realised that yes I do need other people around me to be able to exercise, I just can’t do it at home.

Not too sore today and actually walked for miles this morning.

Onwards and upwards!

I had to take painkillers the next day. My legs were so sore even sitting on the toilet was a killer! Nice hot baths and gentle exercise the day following a workout - like a good walk or some yoga - does help, even if it’s the last thing you want to do. Even now DOMS can be a killer if I’ve really pushed it. It does get easier and less painful though.

Thanks for your replies. I've taken some ibuprofen. It's where my legs join my torso that hurts, all the way round not in one spot.

Thing to do is work at your level. Not the instructor level. Ease in, if it hurts doing a certain move back off a little. Little & often is better than 1 long hard session, where u ache that much after/day after it puts you off doing it again

magnesium spray is excellent for muscle aching

Have a look at using magnesium spray for DOMS.